Keith Monks Audio Works • discOveryOne Redux Record-Cleaning Machine

by Mark Blackmore | November 7, 2019

© www.theaudiobeat.com

My first record-cleaning device was the ubiquitous Discwasher. Established in 1972 and headquartered in my hometown of Columbia, Missouri, Discwasher produced one main product, a walnut-handled brush with velvet pad. It was sold in every record store in town, and all my friends into recorded music owned one. While I eventually moved on to the VPI HW-16.5 record cleaner, I still break out my Discwasher from time to time, just to revisit the process, for nostalgia’s sake. Vinyl lovers of a certain age will remember the drill: apply a thin line of fluid to the front edge of the velvet and use the back of the bottle to spread it evenly. Brush the record -- a couple of revolutions on the wet edge and a couple of revolutions on the dry edge. Lift the brush, and dust, off the record's surface and wipe the velvet on your pant leg. Ah, youth!

As a pre-audiophile high-schooler from the Midwest, I was unaware that, in 1969, Keith Monks had begun selling his record cleaner in England; it represented a significantly more advanced type of cleaning than my trusty Discwasher. Keith Monks continued making record cleaners until his passing in 2005. Shortly after, his oldest son, Jonathan, relaunched the company as Keith Monks Audio Works, which produces seven different models of record cleaners and a variety of cleaning fluids and brushes. Now, some fifty years after the original design debuted, a new Monks record cleaner, the discOveryOne Redux, was in my listening room.

The discOveryOne Redux has a compact rectangular shape, and it easily fits on a low bookshelf or tabletop. Approximately 19 1/2" wide, 12 3/4" deep and 10 1/2" tall, it feels much smaller than my VPI and is finished with a faux carbon-fiber wrap on the side panels. The top plinth is made from thick metal painted an attractive dark gray-blue. The basic configuration hasn’t changed since Monks’ first machine. On the left side of the top is the brush and fluid dispenser arm. In the middle of the top plinth is a slightly undersized platter topped with the proprietary Pyr/\Mat, and on the right side is the vacuum and thread arm with the spool of thread mounted near the pivot.

What is the spool of thread for? Well, that’s the genius part of all Monks designs. The cotton thread travels down the bottom side of the vacuum arm and exits just before the vacuum nozzle. Then it is fed underneath and through the nozzle, and back through the plastic tubing in the arm that carries the waste fluid to the canister underneath. The thread acts as a cushion to keep the nozzle from scratching the record surface, but more importantly, it provides a clean interface to make the vacuum more efficient. Additionally, each side of every record will have a new, clean piece of cotton thread, so there can be no cross-contamination. This is a revelation to those of us using non-thread vacuum cleaners. No more cleaning the velvet "lips" on the suction tubes of the VPI, and no replacing those velvet pieces once they’ve been in service for a number of years.

The Pyr/\Mat is made from a flexible, rubbery material molded with a crosscut pattern, leaving only little pyramids to support the record surface. This minimizes cross-contamination from placing a dirty record on the mat. For those who want extra protection for your clean vinyl, an extra mat can be purchased through Monks so one can always have a clean mat. I did not notice any dust or dirt build-up during my time with the discOveryOne Redux, so the mat seems to work as advertised. Monks also includes a minimal cover for the mat and vacuum arm, which reminds me of the dust cover for my Michell turntable and some of the newer Rega 'tables.

On the left front of the top is the fluid pump, which is, and always has been, the windshield-wiper fluid pump from a 1961 British Motor’s Mini. In the middle is a handle for gaining access to the fluid containers inside the discOveryOne Redux, and the right side has an on/off switch along with a warning light and buzzer if the used-cleaning-fluid container becomes full. There is a vacuum gauge mounted near the bottom of the unit to monitor the suction, while the back of the discOveryOne Redux has an IEC power inlet and a fan for cooling the German-made vacuum pump.

Setting up the discOveryOne Redux for the first time is easy. Lifting the top plinth exposes the insides of the record cleaner, and heavy-duty cabinet hinges hold the plinth in place. Besides the vacuum pump, there is the motor-and-belt system that rotates the platter and moves the vacuum wand. Three jars connect to the brush arm and vacuum wand via clear tubing. The jar on the left is for Monks discOvery 33/45 cleaning fluid, the one in the middle holds the used cleaning fluid, and the one on the right is the pump silencer. Simply fill the left cup with cleaning fluid, secure the lid and close the plinth.

The company advises to wet the brush with a bit of cleaning fluid before you clean your first record. They state that dry brushes can scratch vinyl, so wetting them is an easy way to protect your records. I also tried a bit of Audio Intelligent Ultra-Pure Water as an alternative to the discOvery 33/45 cleaning fluid. Both worked well, and the warning is good advice for those of us using brushes with competing record-cleaning systems.

To clean a record, move the vacuum arm over the label of the record. This starts the platter motor, arm drive, and vacuum pump. Now, swing the fluid-dispenser brush over the record. Push on the fluid pump one or two times until you see a small line of fluid on the record. Pivot the brush down onto the record surface. Let the brush move the fluid on the record surface for 30 seconds, then lift the brush out of the way. The motor system continues to move the vacuum arm outward, toward the inner record grooves, and the vacuuming process begins.

Once the vacuum arm has reached the edge of the record, it will continue to move outward until it turns the motor and pump off. The entire process of brushing and vacuuming will take about 90 seconds. Some practice will be necessary to get just enough fluid on the record without waste. Too much fluid and the rapidly spinning platter (think 78rpm record speed) will splash off the excess onto the top plinth. Keep a tissue handy for the first few tries.

When it comes time to empty the waste fluid, you will also need to cut off the used cotton thread with a pair of scissors before putting the lid back on. Each record side uses very little thread, so if my experience is normal, you will only occasionally need to replace the spool. You will periodically need to use the provided Breakthemold fluid to keep the waste fluid tubes and jars clean. Just put a few tablespoons in a small dish and let the vacuum arm suck it up. After emptying that cleaner out, you are now ready to return to cleaning records.

Directly comparing record cleaners is a difficult task because no two records sides are identically dirty. One can’t be sure that a second cleaning by a competing design doesn’t sound better merely because the record needed a second cleaning to sound its best. To get the best possible take on what the discOveryOne Redux could do, I did all my listening through headphones and I installed a new Sumiko Amethyst cartridge on my turntable, which can dig out quite a bit of detail but is not particularly kind to dirty records. Here are a few examples of my cleaning experiences.

Who’s Next by The Who [MCA 79182] was a used-record-store find, and just one cleaning pass with the Monks machine was revelatory. After the dead-silent lead-in groove, “Baba O’Riley” begins with a loud ostinato synth line that sounded as clean as if it had been recorded yesterday. It was thrilling to hear the power of Pete Townsend’s piano chords and Keith Moon’s explosions on the drum kit. I’ve heard Geffen’s reissue, and my advice is to seek out the original 1971 MCA and get it really clean. The reissue is not in the same league as this 48-year-old pressing.

Occasionally, there will be a record that no amount of cleaning can improve. I mention this to point out the limitations of any cleaning system. Cleaning can only remove debris and dust that shouldn’t be there in the first place. Tommy Flanagan Trio's Overseas [Prestige 7134] is a great album from a musical point of view, but Analogue Production’s reissue is noisy in the lead-in groove and between tracks. The Redux could not improve on this noisy pressing. Since it’s a mono recording, I tried my Ortofon SPU CG 25 mono cartridge to see if it would be quieter in the groove. It wasn’t. To be fair, on my regular rig, there was no noise heard at my listening seat, but headphone listening was merciless regarding groove noise.

Finally, I did exactly what I said is a difficult task -- comparing cleaning machines on the same record. I went down to the local church thrift shop and chose a record I was fairly confident had never been cleaned, Perry Como’s Home for the Holidays [RCA PRS-273]. Side A was cleaned by the discOveryOne Redux and side B with my VPI HW-16.5 ($800) using Audio Intelligent Premium One-step Formula No.6. While neither machine was able to get every bit of noise out of the record, the Monks machine did a significantly better job of cleaning than the VPI, with fewer clicks and pops and a quieter background upon playback. In subsequent tests, I was able to match the cleaning power of the discOveryOne Redux with my VPI '16.5 if I reverted to my three-step system from Audio Intelligent: an initial cleaning with Enzymatic, then the Super Cleaner, and a final rinse with Ultra-Pure Water. But that process took about ten minutes per record. And that was the crux of the discOveryOne Redux's advantage: In a little over a minute, I could clean and dry a record and then play it. The discOveryOne Redux is efficient and quiet and makes me want to clean records. The VPI '16.5 takes time and lots of bottles, separate brushes, etc. and afterwards, you need to clean all those brushes. In contrast, the discOveryOne Redux requires a wetting of the brush, one or two pumps of fluid, let the brush do its job, then drop the vacuum wand on the label and you are almost finished. Plus, the Monks cleaner is much quieter than the VPI. Using my iPhone, I measured the discOveryOne Redux at 53dB at one meter, while the VPI machine came in at a noisy 83dB.

Priced at just under $3500, the discOveryOne Redux is in the top price tier of record cleaners, and it uses high-quality parts that should last a lifetime. Monks reports supplying parts for 40-year-old machines and their website is promoting the discOveryOne Redux as a self-service machine for record stores. That certainly shows a lot of confidence in its ease of use and its durability.

The best tool for the job is the one you’ll actually use. From music-writing programs to kitchen gadgets to yard tools to audio equipment, an excellent product that you don’t use isn’t worth very much. The discOveryOne Redux was a machine I wanted to use and enjoyed every moment in the cleaning process. I cleaned more records in the short amount of time I had it in my house than I had cleaned in the previous year with my own VPI record cleaner.

If you would ask a group of vinyl-loving audiophiles about their favorite cleaning process, you might get answers ranging from wood glue to home-brew fluids to ultrasonic tanks. I doubt I would have had an answer before the Monks cleaner arrived at my house, but I can now say my personal favorite is the discOveryOne Redux. Its timeless design is both effective and elegant.

Price: $3450.
Warranty: Two years parts and labor.

Keith Monks Audio Works
PO Box 34
Ventnor PO38 1YQ UK
+44 (0)1983 857079
www.keithmonks-rcm.co.uk

Dynavector USA
8116 Gravois Rd
St. Louis, MO 63123
www.dynavector-usa.com

Associated Equipment

Analog: J.A. Michell Gyrodec turntable with Orbe platter and bearing; Ortofon TA110 and Zeta tonearms; Sumiko Amethyst and Ortofon SPU CG 25 mono cartridges; Fosgate Signature phono stage.

Digital: Apple Mac Mini running Audirvana +, BorderPatrol DAC SE digital-to-analog converter.

Preamp: Yamamoto Soundcraft CA-04.

Headphone amp: Yamamoto Soundcraft HA-02.

Amplifiers: InnerSound ESL, Yamamoto Soundcraft A-08 and A-09.

Speakers: Altec Lansing Valencia, InnerSound Eros.

Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-W1000.

Cables: BPT IC-SL and MIT Shotgun S1 interconnects; BPT SC-9L and InnerSound ESL speaker cables; BPT C-9 and L-9CST, Yamamoto Soundcraft (came with amps) and Shunyata Research Venom power cords; Shunyata Research Venom USB cable.

Power distribution: BPT 2.0 and CPT.

Room treatment: Zanden Audio AP-1 panels.

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